Hello all readers! Please enjoy my fanfic and just a warning there will be OCs. Hope you enjoy the story! PS: Give reviews, the more the better. (helpful ones are the best)

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece

TALE OF THE BEGINNING

'I will give you another chance…' Its voice slithered down his ear as its blurry, shadow-like body wrapped around his own. The demon continued with its lucid voice that seemed to be dissipating through time, 'But great sacrifices will be made…' The memory flickered. 'Give me your most cherished memories…' Its black, bony hand reached forward…

Emptiness…

A voice of a woman echoed, 'In nine years' time, we will meet again…' He could still make out her desperate call as her silver hair flew in the unnatural wind. She was someone he had cared for, he tried to reach for her out stretched hand but the wind, like something conscious, were pulling them apart…

Sorrow…

'Luffy!' The voices were small, almost inaudible but he knew they were real, calling out for him in absolute distress. Why couldn't he reach to them? He felt chained with guilt of the past, feeling like a feather in the wind, being pulled along with the flow, unable to do anything. So useless, so helpless. They were all the people he loved and now, they seemed non-existent. He couldn't even remember their name their faces, all were taken away with the decay of time.

Regret… It was all he had felt.

The little girl woke up, panting, sweating, feeling like a thousand weights were on her shoulders. The nightmares of her past had come to haunt her again last night. Luffy rubbed her eyes as if she was trying to rub the horrible images out of them and ran a hand through her messy jet black hair. She had seen more than one her age was supposed to see.

Luffy climbed off the bed and landed on the ground quietly.

'LUFFY!' A raspy voice that she knew oh-so-well echoed from under her feet and she could feel the beating of his foot against the rickety wooden staircase. The shout almost made her jump through the roof. Luffy paled, climbed back into the bed and, wrapping the blanket around her body like it was going to make her invisible, she stayed quiet. It was not like her to keep quiet but the man that was coming for her was worse than a wild beast. The man was her grandfather.

She could feel her blood pump as the door slammed open and at every step of the Marine hero, her heart nearly jump out of her chest. She could hear the man cooed for her but she ignored it. When she suddenly felt a strong hand hoist the blanket –including her – into the air, did Luffy begin to squirm and shout. 'Let me go! Let me down! Jii-chan!'

'Oh, hello to you too, Luffy.' Garp boomed happily. Luffy poked her head out through the covers and pouted at her grandfather. She didn't want to go on another 'marine excursion' or training trip with Garp if that was what he wanted.

The little seven year old girl wriggled out of his grip and landed on the ground with a light thud. She climbed on the bed, grabbed her hat and stood up on the mattress in order to look eye to eye with her grandfather, 'Are you going to try to take me to another marine base? Cause I won't be going!' She said as she stuck out her tongue childishly.

Garp chuckled and picked her up with one hand, 'So what have you been doing lately? It's been so long since I met you. Two years was it?' He mused at how his granddaughter has grown. Luffy grinned and grabbed onto her hat. 'Grandpa…'

He nodded in response to her call.

'I've decided… I won't be another pirate on the sea.' Luffy continued with a smile. This, of course, nearly made Garp go to heaven with joy, but then, the next sentence will definitely pull him down to the depths of hell. 'I'll become the Pirate Queen instead!' She cheered, pumping out her fist.

'What…' He looked down, a shadow covered his face as an intimidating air surrounded him, 'DO YOU MEAN YOU STUPID GRANDDAUGHTER?!' Then he exploded his face red with anger. Seeing what was going to come for her if she stayed in his grip (most likely being squished to death), Luffy squirmed out of his hand and began running like her life was on the line.

The small ball of excitement slid down the railing of the wooden staircase and landed on the first floor. She banged through the door and into the bar where she faced with Makino, the barmaid, who was cleaning the tables (even though no one ever comes to the bar anyways). The woman shot Luffy a questioning look and, like always, the girl returned it with a grin. 'Got to go! The next time you want to see me, go to the Dadan Family!' The girl waved goodbye and slid under the bar entrance.

Makino didn't even have time to register what the child just said when she heard banging echoed from the stairs. Garp jumped into the room the same way Luffy had done and demanded loudly, 'Where is she?!'

Makino pointed to the door, finally understanding what was happening. She smiled. The cat-and-mouse chase between Garp and Luffy had become some kind of tradition every time they meet. Garp charged outside, nearly shattering the bar's door into splinters.

Luffy had run half way through the Fushia village when she pretty much charged into Mayor Woop Slap. She bowed in apology and took off again but something pulled the collar of her sleeping dress back. The little girl clutched her throat as she was hoisted into the air. The man asked, 'Where are you going?'

'Away from Jii-chan.' Luffy replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. The mayor sighed, the grip on her dress tightened.

'If you're going to play cat-and-mouse with Garp, at least do it in normal clothes.'

'Who said I'm not wearing normal clothes?' Luffy stuck out her tongue and squirmed out of her sleeping dress, revealing a pair of shorts and a maroon tank top. Woop Slap sighed again; his gaze followed the girl as she ran off again, her hand on her hat. A moment later, he heaved another sigh, this one slightly longer – he couldn't help it, after all – as the towering figure of Garp darted by.

The two lone figures treaded through the hectic forest. Their shouts muffled by the rustling of trees, the growls of beasts, the humming of insects… It was a dangerous forest for one to travel through taking account to its multiple gigantic 'residents'. The older man had short grey hair, a distinctive crescent shaped scar around his left eyes and was dressed in a formal black suit that doesn't, in anyway, fit his characteristic. He was holding onto the little boy-like girl by her stretchy cheek.

'I can't believe it!' He boomed, his voice shaking the earth. 'Not only did you make friend with that wretched Red-Haired kid, you also ate a Devil's Fruit!?'

Luffy didn't really know if it was a question or a scold but she answered it anyways, 'Yeah, so?'

'SO?' He raised her into eye height and shouted, 'You will not play with PIRATES when you are a MARINE!'

'But I'm not a Marine.' Luffy crossed her arms and sulked. The older man lowered his hand to his side once again but, like a child who lost his candy, still grumbled with irritation. Luffy snickered quietly. She was having a great day, despite the appearance of Garp. She was going to meet Ace and adding it with the success in changing fate a few days ago, it was very thrilling indeed. Three days ago, the thing with the bandits happened. Of course, she beat them up on her own this time. It was hard at first though, controlling the Gomu-Gomu no mi's powers. Still, and sadly, Higuma carried her off (that damned bandit) and took her to the sea. He was about to throw her off when the Lord of the Coast appeared and snatched the stupid bandit from the boat. The Sea King bowed to her and left (Luffy didn't know why but after she became the Pirate King in her last life, all Sea Kings could talk to her and treated her with respect). Shanks swam in after that and asked her what happened. She spilt the truth, of course, but he told her to not tell that to anyone else or no the Marine would try to kidnap her. He still gave her his hat like in the last life and they still did their promise.

'What are you grinning about?' Garp asked, snapping her out of her little flashback. She shook her head with a smile and uttered, 'Nothing.'

Garp chuckled, 'You might me better at lying than two years ago but you still can't lie to me, brat.' Luffy grumbled slightly, crossed her hands and turned away with a pout. She replied, 'I was thinking about how annoying Jii-chan is!' She stuck out her tongue teasingly, making a few veins pop in Garp's forehead.

'I might make you do another training session if you keep being stubborn like this! Now that you can't swim anymore, I might trying and teach you how to fly.' Garp said, a hand on his chin. Luffy cringed slightly; she did not want to know what he was thinking. The Marine Vice-admiral continued, 'How about we try tying you to some balloons and see how far you can stay afloat?'

'You must know how deadly that sounds, right? Jii-chan?' The little girl paled about three shades as she stated. She looked as her grandfather boomed out laughing, 'It's a great idea, I might try it with Ace too!'

They stopped in front of the broken down hut that Luffy knew oh-so-well and Garp released her from his grip. Despite her released, Luffy climbed back onto Garp, specifically, onto his head. Her legs hung on his shoulders and her hands wrapped around his forehead. She rested her chin on his head as he slammed on the door. It was her privilege, to be able to sit on Garp; after all, he liked doting his granddaughter.

The wooden door banged open. It was good that it was opened; Luffy thought that if Garp were to continue banging on it, it would shatter. A face she knew by heart was at the door, still the same thick lips that were always holding onto a cigarette, the same unkempt curly ginger hair and that same angry scowl which she had faced so much before; it was Dadan, her foster mother. The woman shouted, 'It's so annoying! Who's the reckless daredevil!?'

Garp loomed forward, letting a shadow fall on his face, making him look rather menacing. 'It's me.' It might not seem like so but the words that came from his mouth could probably make some criminals cry for their mothers.

In a matter of seconds, Dadan's face turned from red to blue. She scrambled back, away from the doorsteps, her face painted with fear and shock. She managed to stutter, 'G-Garp-san!'

Luffy observed with amusement as the curtains behind Dadan opened, revealing to other similar faces, Dogra and Magra. Dogra was, like always, small, his voice was weird and it makes her want to laugh but she knew that that would be rude. Magra still had his chicken-like looks and tall stature just like she had remembered him to be. They too wore the expression Dadan had on her face. 'Ehhh!?'

Garp loosened his glare and leaned back, chuckling loudly, 'Well, you seem to be doing well!'

Dadan shouted, not feeling like welcoming Garp at all, 'You've got to be kidding me! I wish you'd just leave me alone for a change!' She threw her arms into the air dramatically. 'Ace is already ten, you know!'

At the mention if Ace, Luffy couldn't even stop squirming. Garp took a hand to hold her down while laughing contently, 'Is he? Has it been that long? How is he doing?' He said with a tinge of curiosity in his voice.

Dogra whined, his face even more exasperated than it already has been, 'It's no laughing matter! We could barely contain him nowadays! Just take him with you already!' Magra stood in the background, nodding enthusiastically.

Ignoring both of the other's whines, Garp continued nonchalantly, 'Anyways-' He was cut off by a shout. 'Don't just change the subject like that!' The petit man jumped in anger.

Luffy, who had gotten bored with the comedy act of the four adults, reached out her hand and began to pull on the corner of Garp's mouth. The Marine Hero directed his attention to the little girl on his shoulders and shot her a curios glance. She pouted adorably with her big chocolate eyes, 'Where's Ace?'

Garp took her off his shoulders and put her next to him, wrapping his hand around hers so she wouldn't run away. He pointed to the girl with a smile, 'Take care of her too.'

The girl only grinned and waved at them in return. It had seemed like the two was conspiring with each other since the beginning as the girl was so committed. Dadan and Dogra couldn't even register what happened when Magra stepped in and asked, a hand scratching the back of his neck, 'Who is that kid?'

'She's my granddaughter.'

The trio was frozen for a second, then they bellowed with a voice that could probably reach the Royal Palace of the Goa Kingdom. 'WHHAAAT!?'

'That's a girl?!' Dadan said, her mouth opened so wide you that fitting a buffalo inside it would be done with ease.

They sat in a praying position with their knees on the ground and their heels supporting their body. The three bandits looked up to the towering Marine like guilty children looking up at their scolding parents. Though their face was pale and devoid of hope, they still had a certain determination in their eyes. The trio said simultaneously, 'Not happening!'

'Then, you'll have to make a decision.' The looming figure spoke, his intimidating posture overflowing with authority. 'Either you take care of her… or you can spend the rest of your life behind bars.'

The determination left them immediately, kind enough to not even leave a trace of its existence. The bandits' muscles tensed up and cold sweat broke on the surface of their skin. The man continued as if to torture them after alarming their misfortune, 'I've turned a blind eye so far but you committed as many crimes as there are stars in the sky.'

The edge of Dogra's mouth could not go any further down, if he continued frowning, no one would be surprised if his mouth broke into two pieces. 'No way…' he said, taking the words out of his comrades' mouth. They all felt as if they had ended up in the worst game of would-you-rather, in a literal sense, of course.

Magra thought aloud, 'Well it's true we don't want to go to prison…'

'But sometimes it actually seems tempting.' Dogra finished his sentence. He continued, his voice sounded like he was walking in hell itself, 'Our hands are full with just Ace!'

'And now, you want us to take care of your grandchild too…' Dadan said, her voice trailing off as she imagined how her life would be like with another 'Ace'. You know what? She didn't even want to see a glimpse of that horrid-ness. Dadan pointed to the hyperactive child, who was running across her front yard, and said with a weep, 'I'm sure that kid is as much of a monster, isn't she?'

'Ossan, you look like a monster too.' Luffy's sweet voice echoed from above, making all of the four adults glance up. She had, somehow, found her way to the roof of the hut and was lying in her belly, her head on her palms.

'I'm not a man!' Dadan shouted. It took her a while, though, to fully understand what Luffy had just said. She jumped to her feet and retorted even more loudly, 'I'M NOT A MONSTER!'

Garp chuckled silently and waved for the girl to come down, he raised his hands in the air as if to indicate that he would catch her. Luffy stood up, wiped away the dust on her clothes and jumped onto her grandfather, nearly pushing him over. She poked her head out from under his arms, looked over his shoulders and said happily, 'That was fun, let's do it again!'

The ginger woman fell on her head, 'She's not even listening!' Dogra and Magra ran to her side and tried to pull her out of the ground. Luffy watched with an amused expression. Then, suddenly remembering her urge to jump off the roof again, she scaled her grandfather like she was trying to climb a mountain. She stopped on the top of his head, a foot on his forehead as the other search for a footing on the wall.

'Don't use me as a footstool!' Garp shouted, a vein appearing on his forehead. He used his hand to grab the girl and pushed her onto his shoulder as if to tell her to stay where he could 'keep her under control'. The girl stuck out her tongue in disapproval but stayed still anyways, letting her legs swing on his shoulder. Getting rather bored staying in one place for a while, Luffy began to take out the surviving black strands on the back of Garp's neck. His entire head was nearly turned white by now; the number of black hair still stationed on his head could be counted in a few easy hundreds.

She was cheerfully messing with her grandfather's hair – making it into weird shapes and things- when she felt something approaching her with her Haki. Luffy dodged to a side unconsciously, allowing the tiny puddle of sticky substance meet contact with Garp's hair. She jumped off immediately and pointed to the source of the spit that was now on the Marine Vice-admiral's head, Ace.

Ace was still the same as he used to be, slightly dark complexion with black hair and eyes. A pool of freckles decorated his cheeks, giving him a look naught that compensated for his usual scowl. Of course, at this current moment he was not angry, he was terrified. Garo turned around, a deadly glare on his face. 'Who… did… THAT!?'

At every word, Luffy could see Ace jolt. He wanted to run but he possibly couldn't. Luffy turned to the boy immediately, announcing, 'He did it.'

Ace freaked, 'It wasn't my fault! It was his fault for dodging it!' He pointed to the younger girl, who he surely thought was a boy, and said accusingly. Knowing his unreasonable logic would not work, Ace jumped off the ox's carcass that he was sitting on and scrambled off. Garp followed closely behind the boy, shouting, 'Come back here, you brat!'

An hour later

'Ace, meet Luffy. Luffy, meet Ace.' Garp said cheerily, showing the two children to each other. Ace was barely recognisable though, bruised covered his face and a bandage was wrapped around his forehead. He had suddenly found the corner of the house rather interesting and stayed quiet as he stared at it. Not even bothering to care about what anyone thinks, Garp continued, 'He is three years older than you and from now on, you'll be living with these guys.'

'Okay.' Luffy said immediately, nodding all the way. The bandits' jaws dropped. 'YOU JUST DECIDED THAT ON YOUR OWN?' They all screamed in unison.

'I'm sure you'll all get along fine!' Garp beamed as he rose to his feet, he's got other things to do other than deal with nanny bandits.

'You think this is settled?' The residents of the Dadan family jumped to their feet and shouted irritatingly. Only to receive a death-glare from Garp that nearly made them pee their pants. His voice rumbled, 'What?'

They immediately retreated from their mutiny, lined up and saluted him like soldiers, 'We'll take care of it!'

'Then my business here is done.' Garp said as he twisted the rust doorknob. Then, he stop midway through the door and said, 'I'll visit when I have free time.'

Magra stepped forward and said hesitantly, 'What about child support?' He said while playing with his fingers nervously. Garp thought at the top of his head for a moment then said beamingly, 'Put it on my tab!'

Dadan grumbled under her breath, 'This ain't a bar, you know…' It was barely audible but everyone knows how excellent Garp's hearing is, right? 'Huh?' He asked threateningly, making everyone shudder in fear. Dadan immediately slapped on her smile and waved at him happily, 'You're always welcomed here!'

As soon as Garp got out of sight, she collapsed weeping. Like always, Dogra and Magra helped her to her feet and she shouted loudly in tears of anger, 'Go cook something already!'

Luffy sat at the corner, fidgeting slightly as she watched the men scramble around the hut, cleaning, cooking, fighting, it was certainly as chaotic as she remembered it to be. A few minutes later, Dadan came out of the kitchen carrying a gigantic basket of meat which was piled up like a mountain. Seeing the meat, even though badly cooked, Luffy couldn't help but drool.

'Eat up!' She announces, slamming the entire basket down. The moment it touched the ground, the bandits lunged forward, fighting each other for the food like wild beasts. Luffy was the first one to reach the food though, her many years of running had helped her beat them with ease. She kicked off any one who dared to approach her and walked off safely with a handful of meat on bones. Luffy stationed next to Dadan who was sitting by the fire place in the middle of the room and chugged down her food, meat, rice, bone and all, like they were water.

'I need more food, old man! Oops, I meant woman.' Luffy said as she pulled Dadan's pants, picking out the things stuck in her teeth along the way.

'I'm not old!' Dadan said angrily, then comprehending what the girl had just said, she retorted, 'And fixing that mistake makes it even more annoying!' Luffy ignored her words and continued eating.

'Girl, don't you realise where you've been left?' Dadan threatened, shouting into Luffy's face.

'Your spit is getting onto my food!' Luffy said while hugging her food protectively, she continued after looking straight into Dadan's eyes 'and no, I don't realise I've been left. Probably a foul den of a bunch of fat bears… I mean bandits.'

'Don't you know where you are?' A vein popped up on the older woman's forehead, she gritted her teeth as she loomed over the girl intimidatingly, 'This is the hideout of the mountain bandits who rules Mt Corvo, the Dadan family!'

'Mountain bandits?' Luffy narrowed her eyes, 'They're… I mean you guys are annoying. But it's fine. Maybe I'll like you guys better than the others.' She grinned brightly, making Dadan slightly taken aback.

'Sh-shut it, you bastard!' Dadan said, flustered by what Luffy said, 'Flattery won't work! It's already a pain taking care of you! If you don't want to be here, that's fine by us! Just go out and find your own food, make your own house!'

'Now, now boss!' Magra tried to comfort Dadan.

'Who said I wanted to leave?' Luffy said with a smile, 'I'll stay here. Getting food here is easier than in the jungle.'

'That food you're eating is from the buffalo Ace caught! If you want to even sit at the table tomorrow than at least catch something like Ace or no, you can do the chores. A life of a bandit is hard! We'll work you half dead! Cleaning! Laundry! Shoe and weapon polishing! Theft, looting, swindling and killing! And listen… you're not going to say a single word to Garp about the stuff we make you do! A bowl of rice and a cup of water every day, that's all I'm giving you!' She said threateningly after getting back her composure. This kid ticked her off even more than Ace had done.

'I won't say anything since I won't be doing any of that stuff anyways. I'll just hunt something for you every day. And if I run out of food, I'll go get my own. So I'll stay here.' Luffy said with an innocent grin.

'She's fine with it!?' Dadan slammed her head against the floor once again, 'You should be crying by now!'

'Hehe!' Luffy smiled happily, giggling at Dadan's reaction, 'If I can't survive this, I'll never be able to become a pirate!' Luffy said proudly. She turned to Ace, noticing his glance towards her, obviously interested in what she had said.

'Boss, are you okay?' The bandits panicked, asking Dadan question worrily, trying to get her up to her feet.

Luffy's eyes followed Ace as he left the room and went out of the hut. So he's going there, huh? I want to meet with Sabo soon but if I meet up with them too early then Porchemy won't be there and I won't be able to get their trust. Still, Luffy stood up, dusted off her clothes and followed Ace out of the hut. She rested a hand on her hat and gave herself an encouraging grin.

'Oi, where are you going?' Dadan shouted, she had just gotten up to her feet, then she realised what Luffy just said and shouted, 'And did you just say pirate?'

Luffy, ignoring the bandits, followed Ace outside. Dadan jumped up and shouted even louder the time around, cursing, 'Dammit! She's not listening! You see?! She's way too stubborn! This is why I don't want Garp's grandchild!'

Magra, with another attempt to calm down his boss, said, 'Now calm down, boss.'

Luffy had already left the hut, ignoring the conversation of the bandits. She ran after her brother deeper into the jungle and said with a happy grin, 'Let's talk! I'm sure you already know my name! Let's try to get a little bit closer! Ace!'

Ace turned around, the dangerous and distant look still in his eyes; He glared down at Luffy who was still approaching him. Luffy shouted, 'Stay there! I'm coming!'

Ace observed her for a moment, turned around and kicked the nearby tree, breaking it in half. Then with another kick, he rolled the tree downhill. Luffy, knowing it would happen, jumped on top of the rolling trunk, dodging it and used it as a platform to reach Ace. Bouncing off the trunk, she land landed with a 'thud' next to where Ace was standing.

She turned to her brother, a hand holding onto her straw hat, 'I told you to stay still, didn't I?'

Only to be replied with a click of his tongue and Ace ran off with amazing speed. Luffy shouted as she followed, 'Wait! I know the direction you're heading to! It's the Grey Terminal isn't it?'

The young boy had already crossed the bridge half way when he suddenly halted, surprised at what Luffy had said. But then he erased the look off his face and turned to the girl who stood at the beginning of the bridge. Luffy approached Ace slowly and said with a smile, 'Wondered how I knew that did ya?'

Ace began approaching her, slowly with his grip tightening on the silver pipe. The two exchanged a determined look before Ace swung the pipe and threw Luffy over the bridge. Luffy didn't scream, she was not even scared because she knew it was coming. After seeing Ace left, she used the 'gomu gomu no fuusen' to land safely on the ground. She thought to herself, I'll be staying in this forest for a week so I should play around a little. Let's go on an adventure, then!

One week later

'Boss!' Dogra called out, his face drowned in confusion, 'Boss Dadan!'

Magra, appearing from behind the door, inquired, 'Who is…' He stopped in mid-sentence, his eyes nearly popping out.

'Who's there?' Dadan said, only to see who it is and get imprinted with an expression of surprise, 'It's you!' She pointed at the shadow of Luffy.

'She came back!' Dogra said, his jaws nearly fallen off. Luffy approached them with a make-shift trolley full of gigantic dead animal's carcasses. She looked fine even though her clothes were torn and her skin was full of scratches. She spoke, 'This is food for the next seven days, they're fresh, I just hunted them.' Then Luffy handed them the trolley and entered the house, leaving the three of them speechless. She said her last word as she went into her (and Ace's) room, 'I'm tired. Don't disturb me. Good night.'

She slammed the door shut behind her, collapsed to the ground and fell asleep immediately. Dadan looked at the trolley, and then turned to where Luffy was, 'where was that kid? What was she doing?'

'I wonder that too?' Dogra and Magra said together. Dadan turned to the two, threw the trolley of meat at then then shouted, 'Get that stocked, it's food for the next week!'

Day eight

'Ace! Wait for me!' Luffy shouted as she followed the young boy's figure into the forest.

'Boss, she's going after Ace again!' Dogra shouted, warning Dadan. She poked her head through the door and grumbled, 'And she just returned yesterday!'

Magra appeared from behind the two, 'Luffy left a note.' He handed Dadan the paper. The bandit's boss read the note aloud, 'Gone to the jungle with Ace. I'll return with food. Don't worry about me, okay? *winking smiley face*'

Dadan exploded, 'We're not worried!'

Luffy, who was half way down the hill, turned around and stuck out her tongue naughtily. She purposely chose a place where she was in sight of all the bandits to annoy them.

'That little brat!' Dadan shouted angrily.

'Now, now boss!' Magra tried to calm the woman down. He turned towards where Luffy was to see she had already left.

'Ace! Wait for me!' Calling out to her older brother, Luffy once again followed Ace into the jungle. Running faster and faster, deeper and deeper into the forest, Ac suddenly halted in front of a river. Hovering over it was a branch that carried long green vines and in the river, there were floating logs-like alligators. Taking off and grabbing onto a vine, Ace swung over to the other side of the river where a rock cliff was located. He jumped on the rocks and used them like stairs to get to the top, then he took off running deeper into the woods. Luffy waited until he was out of sight, grabbed onto the branch and rocketed herself onto the top of the clip. She held onto her hat and gave a satisfying smile.

'It seems Ace didn't know I survived that…' She scratched the back of her head, shrugging, she continued whispering to herself, 'Better get Dadan something to eat then.'

Day ten

'Boss…' One of the bandits called out lazily. He indicated to the disappearing figure of the girl.

'Luffy! Get back and work!' Dadan shouted as she peeked out of the door.

'I'll give you something in my treasure tab!' Luffy shouted happily while her legs still followed Ace. They once again ran deeper into the forest, Ace leading with his silver pipe in his hand, Luffy behind with her excited grin. Ace stopped slightly before hopping onto the rocks and landing on top of a tall cliff. Luffy smiled and followed confidently, 'You're not the only one who could do that!'

Suddenly, a hail of rocks fell from the cliff and head for Luffy. That's cruel…Luffy thought before using her Observation Haki to dodge all the rocks and landed on the cliff. She scratched her head, 'He's already gone. I want to talk to him.'

One month later

'Luffy!' Dadan shouted, it had always been the first thing she did in the morning nowadays.

'She left long ago…' Dogra said with a bored voice.

'Did she tell you she'd get us food?' Dadan asked. Her voice now less angry. Dogra turned to her and said after a slight pause, 'Yes…'

'She didn't, right?' Dadan smashed his head angrily, biting on her cigarette, 'Go get her!'

'Right…' Dogra ran off while grabbing onto his wound.

Luffy continued to follow Ace into the dangerous forest. Sometimes she'd get attacked by a gigantic cobra, sometimes she'd fall down one of the cliffs and sometimes she'd be pushed into the valley but she never stopped. On rainy days, on windy days, she'd still run after Ace.

Two months later

'She'd gone and run after Ace's butt again!' Dadan shouted as she chewed on the white stick. She

was staring at the door like expecting something to smash through it the next moment, particularly,

a young girl.

'I can't believe she hasn't learned yet, after all the trouble she's been through.' Dogra sighed, even though he doesn't want to admit it, he worries for the little girl.

'I wish she wouldn't make me worry so much!' Dadan shouted, dropping her cigarette to the ground. Of course, she wanted to take the words right after they came out.

'Hehe, you're worried?' Dogra asked deviously.

'Of course not!' Dadan denied, but gave it away with her flustered cheeks that were turning into a warm shade of red, 'Don't be ridiculous- Aahhh!' She suddenly screamed.

Luffy had returned from another day with Ace, today, she earned a few badly swollen wasp bites; alligators' teeth wound and she was soaking wet. The girl was barely recognisable. She turned to the three and said with a straight face, 'I hit a wasp hive and jumped into the water to get rid of them but I couldn't swim so I had to grab onto an alligator to stay afloat. I'll go to sleep now, save me some food.'

'Luffy…' The three said with terrified faces.

Month number two, Week 2

'Ace! Wait for me!' Luffy still followed Ace, screaming with useless effort. They had one again ended up in a non-ending cat-and-mouse chase. Still, like any other day, it was the mouse chasing the cat.

Ace had already stationed himself on top of the cliff, looking down at Luffy. He groused under his breath, 'He (this is not a mistake, Ace had mistaken Luffy for a boy, yes) followed me all the way here… what a persistent guy…'

Suddenly, a shadow appeared from the bushes, rustling the leaves around it. It was huge, about twenty times the size of a normal human, grumbling and growling with its earth shaking voice.

'I lost Ace!' Luffy whined, swaying her limbs in the air like an annoyed baby. Then she turned to The Tiger Lord, and gave it a smile.

Ace grunted, his nosed wriggling, he thought, that's the lord of the jungle, that kid doesn't stand a chance. Why isn't he moving? Is he too scared?

'I won't die today.' Luffy said with a confident grin. Ace was surprised, he was surprised by the look on her face, the words she said and most of all, he admired her confidence. Ace stood up, preparing to jump down before the Tiger Lord could charge at Luffy but then a gigantic bear appeared. The two wild animals fought each other off, disappearing into the woods. Luffy turned up to smile at the sky before running back into the jungle, leaving Ace to sigh with relief. He had suddenly felt a liking to the boy (girl).

Three months later

'Ah,' Luffy sighed happily, 'I'M HERE! The Grey Terminal!' She raised her hands in to the air victoriously. After three rigorous months, she had finally reached her destination. She smiled as the thick white fog cleared, revealing the uncountable mountains of trash that piled up to unbelievable heights. Welcome to the Grey Terminal.

End scene! Just to the people who read this before, i just fixed it! It will be slightly longer now. Tell me how you feel about the story, give a fav/follow. Sorry for the mistakes.

Love,

Knox